Angels in the Snow
by Temporary Escape
Summary: "A crisp new blanket of sparking white covered the ground as the two of them walked through central park." A new blanket of snow has fallen over NYC. What a simple way to spend the afternoon with a quiet walk in the park. Why can't it stay that way? Chapter 5 is an AN.
1. Chapter 1

The branches of the trees hung low with the weight of the new snow. A crisp new blanket of sparking white covered the ground as the two of them walked through central park. Walking side by side not saying a word they continued along not wanting to disturb the peace. All that could be heard was the crunch of the snow beneath their feet and the distant laughter of children. She grabbed him as she slid on the sidewalk. "It's a good thing you're not wearing you're heals," he commented. She rolled her eyes at him and they continued down the path; the sound of children growing louder. He noticed that there was a sparkle in her eyes and a slight grin growing on her face as she watched the children playing in the snow. Her usual quick pace began to slow as they continued down the path. Her lips parted to reveal her teeth as a smile formed on her face. She was watching as a child flopped down into the snow and started moving her arms and legs together and apart looking like she was doing jumping jacks lying down. "Beckett are you ok?" She turned to him with a childish look on her face as she bit her lip and looked into his blue eyes. "Is it your mom?"

"How did you know?"

"You have that sparkle in your eyes; the one that you get when you are thinking about her."

"When I was little we use to come to the park during the first snow of the season. We would walk through the park and find that spot over there where that girl is and we would make snow angels like she is doing. My mom would always help me up so that my angels were perfect then she would draw a halo over mine. When I got older I drew devil horns under the halo she made." Tears started to fill her eyes. Realizing she was slipping into her dark place Rick grabbed her hand and started running pulling her along behind him. "Castle what are you doing?"

"You'll see," he said as he pushed her to the ground and lay down next to her and started to make a snow angel. She began to laugh as she watched him.

"You look ridiculous."

"Yes but your laughing aren't you?" She lay back into the snow smiling as she started to make her own snow angel. They both lay next to each other still and turned their heads to look at each other. "Now for the hard part," he said as he sat up slowly turning onto his hands and knees. He cautiously started to stand up when he was shoved back into the snow. "Beckett you ruined it," he wined.

"Then I guess you'll just have to make another one," she stated with a smile. He picked up a hand full of snow and threw it at her; a snowball fight quickly ensued.

Out of breath they sat next to each other she looked into his deep blue eyes and leaned into kiss him. "No! No!" he cried as he looked over her shoulder. He was up on his feet racing toward the lake. She turned around just in time to see the ice crack and the little boy slip below the icy surface. She was up on her feet racing toward the lake calling after him, "Rick don't!" He ripped off his jacket and scarf as he ran toward the lake. Once he reached the edge of the lake he kicked off his boots and crashed through the ice. The cold water hit him knocking the wind out of him. He gasped for air and dove under the water searching for the boy. He came up empty handed and took in a quick breath before going back under. He felt around the cold water frantically before he had to surface again for air. He drew in another quick breath and plunged below the frigid surface of the water. The next time he surface he held a limp little boy in his arms. He handed the little boy over to Kate who was standing knee deep in the water. She carried the boy up the bank of the lake and laid him down to start CPR. She had called an ambulance as Rick entered the water.

"Rick are you ok?" she called in between breaths. She did not get a response. "Rick?"she said as she continued chest compressions on the little boy. She blew a puff of warm air into the cold little boy's lungs and continued compressions. She turned to look back at the lake hoping Rick was lying by the water's edge. Her eyes grew big and a lump grew in her throat as she looked over her shoulder at the lake and saw the calm water with cracked ice. She blew another warm breath into the little boy as one of her tears dropped on to the boy's face. She started pulling the little boys clothes off as she continued chest compressions with one hand. The little boy's naked body lay in front of her as she blew another breath of warm air into his lungs. "Come on," she said as she removed her coat, "breathe." She picked the little boy up and wrapped him in her coat. Kate resumed chest compressions again and gave the boy another breath of air. She heard the wail of sirens in the distance, "hurry up, hurry up," she thought, "Please."

"Mama, my name's Jimmy I'll take it from here."

"No I've got him. There is still a person in the lake," she wept.

"How long has the person been in the water?"

"He has been in the water for about five minutes and has been submerged for about two."

"We've got another one in the water Mike," Jimmy shouted.

More and more emergency rescuers arrived. Kate held the little boy in her arms and rocked him back and forth as he started to cry. "It's ok I've got you," she whispered.

Jimmy came back over to Kate, "we are working to find him mama. What's your son's name?" Jimmy said pointing to the boy.

"He is not my son," Kate replied. "What's your name?" she asked the little boy.

"Ricky," he answered. Her body went numb at his answer.

"Mama we are going to take him to the hospital now." She handed the boy over to Jimmy and sat there as she watched the rescue team search the water for Rick.

"We got him!" Came a voice from near the lake. Her eyes began to water as she saw the rescue workers pull Rick's blue lifeless body from the lake.

"No Rick, No," she cried. "You can't leave me here, you can't."

"Get those clothes off of him and get him into the ambulance."

"Mama, Mama are you ok?" came a familiar voice. She felt a hand on her shoulder. "Beckett?"she looked up and was able to make out the outline of Ryan standing next to her through the tears that blurred her vision. "Beckett what's wrong?" She pointed to the ambulance and said, "Rick," the only thing she could get out before bursting into tears.

"Esposito! Get her to the squad car we're following the ambulance."

"What happened?" Esposito asked.

"It's Castle," Ryan replied. "Beckett do you want me to call Alexis?"

"No, I need to do it." Sucking in a long shaky breath she reached for her phone. Her hands shook as she pressed the phone to her ear. Kate could hear the laughter in the background as Alexis answered the phone.

"Detective Beckett is my dad driving you crazy already?"

"A..Alexis you need to get to the h..h..hospital," she said trying to keep it together.

"Gram!"she heard Alexis scream in terror. "Please Kate, is he alive?" Kate could not keep it together any longer she burst into tears and sobbed into the phone.

"It doesn't look good Alexis," Ryan replied.

"Tell him I love him if I don't make it in time," Alexis said through tears.

"I..I.. will ..Alexis," Kate replied.


	2. Chapter 2

Kate sat staring at her feet while sitting in the waiting room; she was numb of all feeling. Esposito sat to her left and Ryan sat on her right.

"Kate!" Alexis exclaimed as she wrapped her arms around Kate. "What happened?"

Looking up into the blue eyes that were webbed with red from crying, she placed the girl on her lap. Ryan got up and moved so that Martha could sit next to Kate. Martha took Kate's cold hand in her own, "Please Kate what happened to my son?"

Taking a deep breath, "We were in Central Park and Rick saw a boy fall through the ice on the lake. He ran over and jumped into the cold water. He searched frantically for the boy as I called for help. Your dad found him and handed him to me. I started CPR on the little boy and when I turned around to see if your dad was ok he wasn't there." She felt the tears start to well up again. "I tried to stop him. I tried." The tears over flowed from her eyes like a river whose banks could not contain a flood. Alexis held Kate in a warm embrace as Martha rubbed Kate's back, "It's not your fault dear."

After calming herself down, Kate thought to herself, "What is taking them so long? I need to find out how Rick is." Alexis was still sitting on Kate's lap, "Alexis do you mind getting up? I need to go to the ladies room."

As Alexis removed herself she asked, "Kate do you want me to come with you?"

"No Alexis, but thanks for the offer." Kate walked out of the waiting room and down the hall to a set of double doors. She pushed them letting them swing open as she started running frantically looking for Rick.

"Mama, Mama, a voice called you can't be back here."

"Where is he?"

"Mama you can't be back here. Please return to the waiting room. Someone will be out to talk to you as soon as they can." Kate's eyes were wild as she walked up to the nurse and put her face mere inches from her, "I'm only going to ask one more time nicely, "Where is Richard Castle?"

"I'm sorry mama I can not give out private information. Now please return to the waiting room before I have to call security to remove you."

Kate grabbed the nurse by the collar of her scrubs and shouted at her, "Where is he?"

The nurse screamed, "Someone call security," as another doctor rushed to aid the nurse. Kate let go of the nurse with a shove and started walking away.

"Don't want to help me find him. Fine! I'll find him myself. I'm a detective so it shouldn't be too hard." Just then two security guards came through the double doors.

"Where is she?" The nurse and doctor pointed down the hallway toward Kate. Just then a nurse ran out of a room down the hallway, "We need more warm saline solution in here STAT."

Kate took off running and pushed her way into the room. "Rick," she said breathlessly as she saw him laying there being worked on by a team of doctors and nurses. "Mama you can't be here you need to come with us."

Kate turned and looked at the two security officers. "Sorry fellas, don't think so. I'm not leaving." One of the security guards stepped in front of Kate and put a hand on her shoulder pushing her back out of the room. Kate out of instinct put her hand on top of the guards and spun him around. Before he knew what happened to him, his arm was behind his back and Kate was forcing it upward. "I said I'm not leaving." The other security guard quickly lifted Kate off of her feet as he held her around her waist. "Let go of me or I'm going to arrest you for the assault of a police officer," she shouted. The guard carried her down the hallway as she continued to scream at the top of her lungs. "This is assault put me down. You can't take me away from him, you can't." She managed to wiggle her body to the right angle where she knew the guard was off balance she shifted her weight suddenly in his arms and the guard started to fall. Kate took advantage of his momentum and broke free from the guard and ran back toward Rick's room.

"I think I should go check on Kate. She's been gone awhile," Alexis stated. Just then they heard shouting coming from down the hall. "Oh that does not sound good." They watched as three security guards ran down the hall.

"We better go check it out. You two stay here and don't leave," Ryan said as he and Esposito ran out of the room.

"NYPD what's going on?" Esposito shouted as the security guards crashed through the double doors. "Out of control female trying to get into one of the rooms," a guard shouted back before the doors swung shut.

"You don't think it's her do you?"

"It can't be. Beckett doesn't lose her cool." Esposito and Ryan stood in shock at the sight they saw as they pushed open the double doors.

"Beckett! Kate! Oh man she's kicking the guard's… Man, did she just cuff the guard with his own cuffs?"

"She's lost it man. This is not going to be pretty."

"Beckett! Beckett! Kate! We're going to have to take her down."

"That is not going to be an easy task with her being out of control like she is."

"Beckett!"

"Not now Esposito!" she shouted as she ran back to Rick's room again.

"Beckett you are only making things worse. You need to stay out of the way."

"I can't lose him. I can't."

"You ready for this?" Esposito asked Ryan

"I never thought we would have to take the boss out."

"Me either bro." They both grabbed Beckett and drug her from Rick's room.

"Guys! Let me go! Let! Me! Go!"

"Sorry Beckett you left us no choice." She stopped fighting them and let herself be carried. The two detectives decided to put Kate's feet down so she could walk, but as soon as they did she ripped herself free from their grasps and started running to Rick's room. Running after her, "she tricked us."

"Should've known."

Esposito tackled Kate before she reached Rick's room, but she was not going down without a fight. It took four people to hold her down. Esposito sat on her upper back holding her hands while Ryan sat on her hips with his hands holding her lower back. The two guards that were helping each pinned down her legs. She finally stopped trying to get away as the energy drained from her body. Laying on the cold linoleum hospital floor facedown she began to cry. She let out sob after sob as they continued to hold her down.

"Kate just clam down and we will take you back to the waiting room with us. You have to calm down though so you don't scare Alexis and Rick's mom." The sobs continued for a few more minutes until they came to an abrupt stop.

"Beckett you ok? Beckett? She's not breathing," Esposito said.

"What?"

"I can't feel her breathing anymore."

"Get off of her chest."

"I haven't been putting any weight on her chest since she started crying."

"Everybody off," Ryan said. "Did you hear anything break when you tackled her?"

"No, I didn't hear any of her ribs break," Esposito replied. "We need help over here! She's not breathing!"

"Oh God!"

"What?"

"Her heart. Do you think this was too much stress on her heart?"

"Did you say she has a heart condition?" the doctor approaching asked.

"She was shot over a year ago and had heart surgery."

"We need you to return to the waiting room now. We will update you as soon as we can."

Esposito and Ryan walked out of the double doors toward the waiting room where Martha and Alexis sat waiting.

"What are we going to tell Alexis?"

"We have to do what Castle would, tell her the truth."

**Hi everyone. I started writing this in September and got writers block. I finally figured out where I'm taking these characters so I decided to post the first two chapters. I will update when I can. Hope you have enjoyed it so far. Temporary Escape**


	3. Chapter 3

"Is everything ok?"asked Martha as the boys returned to the waiting room.

Taking a deep breath Ryan replied, "No, everything is not ok. The screaming was Beckett. She found your dad's room and wouldn't leave, so security was trying to carrier her out. She ended up knocking over one of the guards and handcuffed another one and went back to your dad's room." Alexis and Martha looked at the men with their jaws slack and eyes wide in surprise at the actions of the detective.

"Ryan and I went to your dad's room, picked her up, and started heading back here. We put her down so she could walk, but as soon as we did she took off again. I ended up having to tackle her and it took four of us to restrain her."

"Where is she? Is she ok now?" Alexis asked. Esposito and Ryan looked at each other and Ryan took a deep breath, "While we had her restrained she stopped breathing. The doctors are working on her now." With this information Alexis began to cry. She knew this was not how this day was supposed to go. It went all wrong; it all went horribly wrong. Her dad had planned out everything all he was doing was waiting for the first snowfall to create the backdrop he had wanted. He had asked Kate's dad and Alexis had gone with him to the store to help pick out the ring and it was perfect.

_The ring was simple but yet elegant and the sparkle of the diamond reminded him of Kate's eyes. He knew from Ryan's proposal to Jenny that Kate wanted something simple, nothing extravagant, no helicopter. He had the ring for over a week and still had not figured out how he wanted to propose. He wanted it to be perfect; it was a once in a life time chance. He thought maybe a nice night out at a fancy restaurant, but scratched the idea. It was too cliché, she would see it coming. He thought about taking her to the Hamptons, but kicked that idea to the curb because he knew she would want to tell everyone in person as soon as it happened. The perfect idea hit him as he was making breakfast one morning with the television on in the background. _

"_Now for your extended weather forecast. Tomorrow partly sunny with a high of 35, Saturday mostly cloudy high of 32, Sunday cloudy high of 30, Monday cloudy high of 28 with the chance of 3-4 inches of snow…" He didn't even hear the rest of the forecast he could see it. It was perfect. He saw himself down on one knee, a blanket of fresh white snow surrounding them with their foot prints embedded mapping out their long journey together thus far. He could see her standing with her winter jacket, scarf and gloves on. He took her hand and slowly pulled off her glove as he told her how much he loved her. Her eyes welled with tears and her slack jaw of surprise made him smile. She shook her head yes as the word 'always' fell from her lips and he slipped the ring on to her left ring finger. He stood up and wrapped her in a warm embrace as he heard her start to laugh. Pulling away he looked into her eyes and could see the future. Monday. That was going to be the big day, Monday in Central Park, surrounded by the glittering snow._

A woman wearing a white coat entered the waiting room, looked around, and spotted them sitting in the corner. She made her way over to the group of adults who were trying to comfort a crying young redhead.

"Sorry to interrupt. I'm Dr. Julian Warner, I have been treating Richard Castle. Would you please follow me?" She led them into a little room with a sofa and a coffee table; the hospital staffs least favorite room, the room where lives changed in an instant. "Please have a seat. As you know Mr. Castle was brought into the hospital because of a near drowning and hypothermia. When he arrived he was not breathing and did not have a heartbeat. The nurses and I have been working on him for the past hour. We have been doing all we can, but he is in critical condition. He has slipped into a coma and a ventilator is helping him breathe. I have to tell you the chances of him coming out of this coma are very unlikely. He was without oxygen for over three minutes and is most likely brain dead. We are waiting on a few test results before we can tell you anything for sure. We are going to be moving him to the ICU shortly. After he is settled in we will let you see him." Doctor Warner sat in the room quietly letting the family have a chance to comprehend all of the information she had just told them. A weak small voice broke the silence, "And Kate? Do you know anything about her condition?"

"What is her full name?"

"Katherine Beckett."

"I'm sorry I don't recognize the name; she is not my patient. If you wait here I will go talk to her doctor."

They all remained seated on the sofa as the doctor left. Not one of them made a sound; each of them had a blank stare on their face. The news was too much to handle they were in shock. The seemingly invincible Richard Castle would most likely not be coming back to them.

The sound of Dr. Warner returning startled them. "Ok," she started this time, "I have some information on Ms. Beckett's condition. As you know she stopped breathing while being restrained. The cause of her lack of breathing is called Atrial Fibrillation, which is when the top of the heart beats out of sync with the bottom part. Ms. Beckett's heart had to be shocked to get it back to a normal rhythm. The doctor that is treating Ms. Beckett has called down a cardiac specialist to treat her. She is breathing on her own now, but is being given oxygen. She is also currently hooked up to an EKG that is being carefully monitored. After the cardiac specialist evaluates her she will be moved up to the ICU for observation and further treatment. Ms. Beckett's father arrived and I have already notified him of her condition. If it's alright with you I would like to bring him in here so he isn't alone."

"Can you please bring him in? I need Papa Jimmy," Alexis said.

**Hi everyone! **

**Thanks for the reviews and story alerts. I appreciate the feedback it helps me see what I need to work on so I can improve my writing ability. Can all of you do me a favor and go read my first fanfic Recall (short one shot) and review; it will help me with this story also.**

**Thanks, **

**Temporary Escape**

**Just a heads up that it may be awhile before I post the next chapter. **


	4. Chapter 4

"Lexi"

"Papa Jimmy," Alexis cried as Kate's father wrapped the girl in a warm embrace.

"Lexi, look I know this sucks but we'll get through this together, ok?" Alexis nodded her head in approval while it was trapped against Jim's chest. "Good, now let's have a seat so I can hear exactly what happened."

"Ok so the doctor didn't tell you anything different then she told us?"asked Esposito.

"No, I told Dr. Warner to tell you exactly what they found, and no this isn't your fault; it has to do with her heart."

"So you're sure I didn't break anything when I tackled her?"

"No you didn't break anything."

"Excuse me sorry to interrupt, but we are moving Mr. Castle to the ICU now. I'm here to take all of you up to the family waiting area there," nurse Hathaway said. "Mr. Beckett, Dr. Rodriguez and Dr. Heartmen will be coming in to update you shortly on Ms. Beckett. Dr. Heartmen is currently completing an ultrasound on her."

"Oh my God, she's pregnant?"Alexis asked in exasperation.

"Oh um, sorry about that. I should have been more specific. The ultrasound is being done on her heart to check for any deformations and also to check the blood flow. I will take you up, Mr. Beckett, to join the rest of them in the ICU waiting room after the doctors have talked with you."

"I'm sorry but I won't be staying down here. I'm not leaving my granddaughter's side. I told her we would get through this together. The doctors can come up and talk to all of us together. Plus Katie would yell at me if I left their sides. I may be her father but she carries a gun. I'm not taking any chances."Jim said holding his hands up as a suspect would surrendering.

The nurse let out a breath of a laugh and said, "Well alright. Follow me."

The group all stood and followed Nurse Hathaway to the ICU waiting area on the seventh floor. The waiting area was situated off of the hall that lead to a set of wooden double doors with glass inserts. Beyond the doors lay the seventh floor ICU. Martha held her breath as she entered the waiting room wondering how long this would be her new home for. Would her son even survive the next several hours or would she have to decide to turn off the machines that were currently keeping him alive? Could she make that decision if she had to? Would she be able to let her son die if he really is brain dead? "Oh Richard you can never do anything without a big production can you?" she thought. Nurse Hathaway spoke up.

"Please make yourselves comfortable. There is a mini fridge that is stocked with juice, milk, and water. The cabinets on the left above the sink contain hot chocolate packets, tea bags and some coffee. There is a hot water tap that you can use and a microwave. The cabinets that run below the counter contain blankets if you need them. When you finish with the blanket just place it in the container in the hall with the blue bag, that way it will be sent to the laundry. If you need anything please don't hesitate to call the nurse's station with the phone on the wall." With that nurse Hathaway left.

Alexis sat on the mint green vinyl sofa with her Gram on the right and Papa Jimmy on the left of her. Esposito, Ryan and Lanie, which they had met up with in the hall on the way to the ICU, sat on chairs flanking the sofa. No one talked only the sounds of their breaths could be heard, each lost in their own thoughts. Alexis let out a sigh as Dr. Warner walked in with another doctor following her.

"Hi everyone, this is Dr. Owens, he is going to be Mr. Castle's doctor for the remainder of his stay here at the hospital."

"Hello," Dr Owens said extending a hand to Martha as she reciprocated. "Dr. Warner and I have gone over Mr. Castle's files together and we a currently still waiting on the one test to come in that Dr. Warner mentioned to you down stairs. We are expecting the EEG results to be done in about an hour. I will read over the results and then discuss the results with you and let you know what options you will have to make for Mr. Castle's health. We currently have Mr. Castle in room ICU741. Nurse Phillips will be in shortly to bring you back to see him. I have to warn you that it is going to be scary when you see Mr. Castle. His is still a little blue around the mouth and his fingers. He has a ventilator helping him breathe, along with wires attached to his chest to monitor his heartbeat. Mr. Castle also has two IVs, one in each arm, that are delivering warm saline solution to his body to warm him back up. Do any of you have any questions for me?"

"How long will it be before I can see my dad?"

"In about five to ten minutes. The hospital allows up to three people in the ICU rooms at a time. "Anything else?" everyone looked at each other until Martha spoke up.

"I think were good for now."

Just then two more doctors walked in to the waiting room.

"Dr. Rodriguez, Dr. Heartmen," Dr Owens greeted as he passed them leaving with Dr. Warner.

Mr. Beckett, I know that I was able to talk to you downstairs for awhile along with Dr. Warner. Dr. Warner informed the rest of you on Ms. Beckett's condition correct?"

"Yes," Jim replied.

"Ok, this is Dr. Heartmen, Ms. Beckett's cardiologist. He is going to be continuing to treat Ms. Beckett while she is here. I'll leave you to it Dr. Heartmen."

"Thank you Dr. Rodriguez," Dr. Heartmen said as Dr. Rodriguez left. "As all of you were informed, Ms. Beckett has Atrial Fibrillation. We are going to be keeping Ms. Beckett in the hospital for a week to continue monitoring her heart. We need to check to see if this was just a onetime stress induced incident or if she had Chronic Atrial Fibrillation. She will be in the ICU for at least two days and will be moved to critical care if things are looking good. Her ultrasound went well and her heart seems to have healed well from the shooting. There isn't even any scar tissue build up which I would expect to see. Ms. Beckett is currently in room ICU731 which is located across the hall from Mr. Castle's room so that visiting them will be easier. Also, Ms. Beckett will be able to see into Mr. Castle's room since she is only allowed out of bed to use the bathroom. Ms. Beckett is doing well and may be tired, but she should seem like herself. She has an IV, heart monitor, and is currently off all oxygen. Mr. Beckett if you would please follow me Ms. Beckett is asking that you come see her."

"Um, Lexi are you going to be okay if I go?"

"Yes, Papa Jimmy."

"If you want me to come with you to see your dad, just pop your head into Katie's room okay?"

"I think I'll be fine with Gram but if we need you, I'll come get you." With that Jim got up after giving Alexis a squeeze and left with Dr. Heartmen.


	5. Chapter 5

**Authors Note**:

Hi everyone!

Sorry I haven't updated in a long time, but I am waiting to see what happens in the new season of Castle before I continue writing. I don't like to copy the show, so I'm waiting to see what they do with Castle and Beckett relationship since this story I set during season5s winter.

Enjoy the rest of your summer or winter depending on where you live!

T.E.


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